Procedures for reducing pain when injecting a liquid, such as, an anesthetic, vaccine, or other medically efficacious liquid include (a) to place a very cold material against the skin or flesh of the patient at the injection site, (b) to apply a topical treatment to the skin or flesh at the injection site, which temporarily numbs the skin or flesh or (c) to rapidly manually massage the skin or tissue at the injection site while performing the injection.